This presentation addresses the rising rate of medical malpractice claims in nephrology and dialysis nursing and equips nurses with practical strategies to protect themselves through defensive documentation. Using real dialysis case examples, it covers documentation dos and don'ts, the risks of wrongful delegation to UAPs, and how scope of practice and escalation protocols can improve outcomes if a nurse is named in a lawsuit.

Health literacy remains a cornerstone of quality dialysis care, even as the CMS quality landscape continues to evolve. This session explores how plain language can improve patient understanding, support ICH CAHPS performance, and strengthen patient education through practical strategies that can be incorporated into everyday clinical practice.

This presentation will cover the history and process of kidney transplants in the VA. Immunosuppression, infection prevention and vaccines will be discussed. Both preventative care and potential post-transplant complications will be covered.

Demonstrating how nephrology and palliative care teams can actively share ownership of a patient's care. This model applies universally, whether the patient chooses hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or supportive/conservative kidney care, ensuring seamless symptom management and psychological support alongside traditional renal management.

This session will focus on maximizing donor recruitment and overcoming barriers to transplantation. Living kidney donor information appropriate for healthcare staff, potential donors, and patients & families facing chronic kidney disease will be discussed.

Transitioning into a dialysis nurse manager role without prior nephrology experience can be both rewarding and complex. This presentation explores practical leadership strategies for successfully navigating the transition while maintaining safe, high-quality patient care. Drawing from real-world leadership experiences, participants will learn how to pair transferable leadership competencies with focused nephrology learning through clinical immersion, mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration, and engagement with specialty resources. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to build credibility, strengthen team engagement, and create a culture of trust, accountability, and continuous learning within dialysis settings.

Move beyond traditional patient education with innovative teaching strategies that improve understanding, engagement, and self-management. This session explores creative approaches to educating patients across all nephrology modalities, including interactive teaching methods, group learning opportunities, and practical techniques to enhance patient confidence and outcomes.

Nephrology nurses routinely care for patients experiencing chronic illness, treatment-related stress, behavioral health challenges, and the lasting effects of trauma. These factors can contribute to difficult interactions that impact patient outcomes, staff safety, and workforce well-being. This presentation explores how trauma-informed care can transform challenging encounters into opportunities for connection, trust, and therapeutic engagement. Through real-world case studies and practical application, participants will learn to recognize early warning signs of escalation, implement effective verbal de-escalation techniques, and respond confidently while maintaining patient dignity and personal safety. The session also examines the cumulative impact of workplace stress, aggression, and crisis situations on healthcare professionals and offers practical resilience strategies to reduce burnout and support long-term professional well-being. Attendees will leave with actionable tools that can be immediately integrated into dialysis practice to create safer, more compassionate care environments.

This session addresses common misperceptions about home dialysis that often circulate among acute and in-center hemodialysis nurses. It outlines essential education content these nurses need when teaching patients about home dialysis options. Participants will learn practical strategies for accurately informing and educating patients so they can make well-informed decisions about transitioning to home therapies.

Discover how a quality improvement initiative successfully integrated early depression screening into CKD care. Learn practical, low-cost strategies to improve screening, enhance care planning, and support better patient outcomes through interdisciplinary collaboration.

This presentation will explore the relationship between moral distress and burnout in nephrology nursing, then develop an ethical decision-making framework designed to help nephrology nurses navigate issues that cause moral distress and burnout.

This session focuses on Legal, Regulatory, and Clinical Risk Mitigation in Dialysis Vascular Access Management. It explores the intersection of evidence-based catheter care, infection control metrics, and institutional liability.

This QAPI project aimed to improve the timeliness and efficiency of initiating hemodialysis treatments in the acute care setting. The initiative focused on streamlining workflows, enhancing interdisciplinary communication, and optimizing resource utilization to reduce treatment delays and improve patient outcomes. Key barriers to timely dialysis initiation were identified and addressed through targeted, measurable interventions, resulting in sustainable improvements in first-shift treatment start times.

Through the lens of a daughter, nurse, and caregiver; this session examines the lived experience of caring for a medically complex dialysis patient navigating a fragmented healthcare system. It challenges the assumption of "noncompliance" and exposes the hidden coordination, advocacy, and emotional labor families carry across the continuum of care. Attendees will leave with practical opportunities to strengthen interdisciplinary support, transitions of care, and caregiver-inclusive practice.

Undocumented patients with ESKD face financial, policy, and healthcare-system barriers that can limit access to kidney transplantation. This session examines these challenges and highlights practical ways nephrology nurses can support patients through education, care coordination, and advocacy.

Nurse-driven protocols empower nephrology nurses to deliver timely, evidence-based interventions while promoting consistency, patient safety, and improved clinical outcomes. Participants will explore the factors that influence protocol adherence, the essential role of accurate documentation in supporting safe patient care, and the key elements that make nurse-driven protocols successful. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to strengthen protocol implementation, improve documentation practices, and foster a culture of accountability and continuous quality improvement within nephrology practice.